Compensating caster, slide, or the like



' July- 16, 1929- w. HEROLD I 1,721,301

COMPENSATING CASTER, SLIDE, OR THE LIKE Filed A ril 21, 1927 E .5. nINVENTOR. i L /fun FHERULD.

A TTORNEY Patented July 16, 1929.

WALTER F. HEROLD, OF UPPER MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE BAS-.SICK COMPANY, OF BRIDGEPOBT, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

COMPENSATING CASTER, SLIDE, OR THE LIKE.

Application filed April 21, 1927. Serial No. 185,511.

The present invention relates to improvements in compensating casters,slides, or the like, an object being to providea support for articles offurniture which will compensate for irregularities or unevenness'in thefloor, or in the furniture, to the end that the several points ofsupport are at all times firmly engaged with the floor. It isparticularly proposed, in the present embodiment, to provide a device ofthis character in which the caster is adapted to have free swivelingaction in any position of deflection, and which may be readily insertedand removed in the same manner as the ordinary detachable caster.Another object is to provide such a device which may be inserted in thestandard drill holes provided in furniture, without change in theirshape or dimensions.

A further object is to provide compensating means of very simple andinexpensive construction, that may be easily assembled, and which willhave a resistance action proportionate to the load imposed thereon, andfurther in which this resistance may be varied to suit different uses bya change in the degree of inclination of one of the elements.

Ajstill further object is to provide a device having a predeterminedlimit of deflection, and which will provide a rigid support when suchlimit is reached, so that, irrespective of the load imposed, an excessstrain will not be placed upon the compensating means.

It is also an object to provide a device which will act as a means forabsorbing vibrations and shocks, this function being especiallydesirable in the use of the devices on motor driven machines, aswashing, refrigerating, adding machines and the like, and on delicateinstruments, as radio apparatus, phonographs, dictating machines, andthe like, and in this respect, it is particularly proposed to providecompensating means free from springs, or vibratory parts, that mighthave periodic vibrations set up in them.

With the above and other obj ects' in view, an embodiment of theinvention is shown in the accompanying drawings, and this embodimentwill be hereinafter more fully described with reference thereto, and theinvention will be finally pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a table, having its fourlegs equipped with casters, ac-' cording to the invention, and showingthe gooperative relation with an uneven floor sur ace;

bodiment of the invention, and showing the" relation of the parts in theno-load position;

Fig. 3 is a similar view, and showing the parts in the extreme loadposition;

Fig; 4 is a front elevational view thereof;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view, taken along the line 5--5 of Fig.2; V

Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view, taken along the line 6-6 of Fig.3;

Figs. 7 and 8 are perspective views of the compensating and top bearingelements employed in the disclosed embodiment; and

Fig. 9 is a sectional view of a modified form.

Referring to the drawings, the caster, according to the presentembodiment of the invention, comprises a tubular socket 10, closed atits top and provided upon its lower end with a base ring 11 secured byfianging over the lower edge of the tube, as at 12. This tube may beformed from solid drawn stock, or it may be formed from sheet metalpressed to shape and folded upon itself, in which case longitudinalseams extend at opposite "sides, as shown at 13, Fig. 4. Obviously thissocket is adapted to be inserted in the usual mannerrin the standarddrill hole provided in the furniture. I

The compensating means is inserted and retained in the upper end of thesocket, and comprises a tubular plug 1&, of rubber, or the like, havingits outer surface of polygonalshape, hexagonal as shown in Fig. 5.\Vithin the central passage of the plug there is engaged a top bearingplunger element comprising a cylindrical stem portion 15 slidablyengaged in said passage, and an enlarged button-like base portion,having a pintle bearing bottom surface 16, and a'dome-shape'd peripheralsurface 17 inclined inwardly to the base of the stem portion. Thesurface 17, it will be noted, is normallydisposed beneath the bottomsurface of the plug member, and as upward pressure is exerted on it, therubber is pressed. upwardly and outwardly, the heX-' agonal outersurface pressing outwardly against and substantially conforming to thecylindrical socket wall, as shown in Fig. 6, and as the upward pressureis increased the compression resistance of the plug is proportionatelyincreased. Upon, the limit of de- Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view ofa sock- .et, and caster, according to the presentemflection beingreached the plunger element abuts the upper end of the socket, so thatfurther increase in the load upon the caster is directly and solidingsupported, and excess strain upon thecompensating means is prevented.Upon release of upward pressure the expansion of the plug element exertsa downward force upon the inclined surrace of the plunger and projectsit to its normal position. By increasing the inclination of the surface17 the resistance to pressure is reduced, while decrease of theinclination will increase the resistance, and in this way thedevice maybe designed for widely dii'l'erent load conditions by merely changingthe plunger element.

The caster comprises the usual horn l8, having a wheel 19 rotatablysupported upon an axle shaft 20, and a pintle 21 secured at its lowerend to the horn top, and provided adjacent said horn top with a baseflange 22. The upper end of the pintle is rounded, or otherwise suitablyformed to have swivel top bearing contact. with the base surface 16 ofthe plunger element. An annular groove 22-3 is formed in the pintle inspaced relation to its upper end inwhich a split spring ring 2% isdisposed, this ring having loose engagement in the groove in both itsexpanded position, when the pintle is removed from the socket, and inits contracted position within the socket, in which latter position itgrips the wall of the socket to retain the pint-lo. The groove 23 iswider in its vertical dimension than the spring ring to an extentsubstantially equal to the maximum deflection of the compensating means,so that the deflection takes place throughfree vertical movement of thepintle, without frictional resistance from the ring, which remains in asubstantially fixed position. Then first inserting the pintle the ringwill occupy a position against the lower wall of the groove. By thencompressing the compensating means to the full limit, as shown in Fig.3, the ring is forced upwardly, sothat upon release of pressure itengages the upper wallof the groove, as shown in Fig. 2, this being thenormal operative position in which itremains under any degree ofdeflection, thereby permitting free vertical movement of the pintlebetween the deflection limits. Under full load conditions, the partswill occupy the relative positions shown in Fig. 3, but should any ofthe points of support encounter an uneven surface the compensating meanswill exert an expelling action on the plunger element and the freelymovable pintle, and thereby compensate for such unevenness. Undercertain conditions where it may be desired to resiliently support thefurniture at all points, at the same time compensatingfor irregularitiesand unevenness, the. resistance will. be designed so that the loaddesired to be supported will not be sufficient to press the parts to thelimit position, as shown in Fig. 3, but they will occupy an intermediateposition in which the compensating means constitutes a cushion support,constantly exerting an expelling action to compensate for uneveness,however.

In additionto the compensating function, 'he device will absorb shocksand vibrations, and without setting up periodic vibrations withinitself,this being due in part to the insulating support provided by the rubberplug element, and in part to the vertical movement of the pintle withoutfrictional. resistance from the retaining ring.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Fig. 9, the stem portion15 ofthe flange element is provided at its upper end with a head 25seated in a shouldered recess 26 in the tubular plug I l, and is adaptedto limit the expelling movement of the plunger 7 compensating furnituresupport,

comprising a socket element having a top bearing, a removable floorengaging element including a pintle adapted to be inserted and removedwith respect to said socket element and having non-resilient cooperativerelation w'ith said top bearing under a predetermined load, andnon-metallic resilient means within said socket elementadapted to exertan expelling force on said floor engaging element.

2. A compensating furniture support, comprising a socket element, afloor engaging element including a pintle, a vertically movable topbearing element adapted to be engaged by said pintle, resilient meansinterposed between said tog bearing element and said socket element apted to exert an expelling force on said top bearing element and saidfloor engaging element, and means for positively limiting the movementof said top bearing element independently of said resilient means.

3. A compensating furniture support, comprising a socket element havinga closed top, a floor engaging element including a pintle, a verticallymovable top bearing ele-- ment adapted to be engaged by said pintle,resilient means interposed between said top bearing element and saidsocket element adapted to exert an expelling force on said top bearingelementandsaid floor engaging. I

element, said closed top adapted to'be engaged by and limit themovement. of said top bearing elementunder a predetermined.

load.

4s. A compensating furniture support,

comprising a socket element having a closed top, a floor engagingelement including a pintle, top bearing means having a predeterminedyielding movement, said closed top adapted to rigidly support said topbearing means at the limit of said yielding movement. v

5. A compensating furniture support, comprising a socket element, afloor engaging element including a pintle, movable top bearing meansadapted to solidly support said pintle under a predetermined load, andnon-metallic means adapted to exert an expelling force on said topbearing means and said floor engaging element.

6. A compensating furniture support, comprising a socket element, afloor engaging element including a pintle, a tubular compensatingelement of resilient material carried by said socket'element, and avertically movable top bearing element adapted to be engaged by saidpintle and including a stem portion engaged in the passage of saidtubular element and an enlarged base disposed beneath said tubularelement and engaged by said pintle.

7. The invention as claimed in claim 6, further characterized by saidenlarged base having an inclined peripheral wall engaged beneath thetubular element.

8. A compensating furniture support, comprising a socket element, afioor engaging element including a pintle, a vertically movable topbearing element adapted to be engagedby said pintle, a compensatingelement of resilient material, engaged by said top bearing elementhaving its outer periphery provided with spaced portions engaging theinner wall of said socket element and formlng alr spaces between sa dspaced engaging portions to permit outward deflection of said element,said tubular element adapted to exert an expelling force on said topbearing element and said floor engaging element.

7 9. A compensating furniture support, comprising a socket element, afloor engaging element including a pintle adapted to be inserted andremoved with respect to said socket element, resilient means cooperatingbetween said socket element and said floor engaging element adapted tobe compressed under a load on said support and to exert an expellingforce on said floor engaging ele ment, said pintle having a relativeinward movement with respect to said socket element under saidcompression,said pintle having an annular groove, a spring ring looselydisposed in said groove and being relatively narrower than said grooveto an extent substantially corresponding to the relative compressionmovement of said pintle, said ring adapted to frictionally grip theinner surface of said socket element and permit free axial and rotarymovement between said elements, said ring abutting the lower Wall ofsaid groove during insertion of the pintle in the socket, and adaptedupon the initial compression after insertion to be moved to'its normalpintle retaining position in relation to the upper Wall of said groove.

Signed at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield, and State ofConnecticut, this 16th day of February, 1927.

WALTER F. HEROLD.

